The Big Give

Educated girls can gain skills and knowledge that lead to better job opportunities and higher lifetime earnings. This allows them to achieve financial independence and contribute significantly to their household and community economy. They can make better health decisions and be more informed about nutrition, basic hygiene, family planning, and their own health needs. This leads to healthier lives for themselves and their children. Education leads to better self confidence and agency in their lives. It equips girls to advocate for their rights, challenge discriminatory practices, and make critical life-determining decisions.

Delayed and Equitable Marriage: Girls with higher levels of education are significantly less likely to marry as children or adolescents. They are also more likely to enter marriages where they have an equal voice and shared responsibility.

Protection from Exploitation: Education provides girls with awareness and opportunities that help protect them from exploitation, abuse, and harmful practices like child labour and gender-based violence.

The Sisters of Mary education programmes operate 13 live-in secondary schools for girls and boys aged 11-17 in the Philippines, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil& Tanzania). The focus of their work is ensuring girls as well as boys have equitable access to a quality accredited education so that they can find good stable jobs and build financial independence for a poverty free future.

In each country where we work a school for girls is the first priority. Girls are disproportionately affected by poverty and lack of access to education increases this disparity. Educating girls, providing them with access to schooling is therefore a foundational step we take toward achieving gender equality, challenging deep-rooted discriminatory social norms, and creating a more equitable society for everyone. At our schools we focus on expanding girls’ and women’s participation in science and technology (STEM) education which is crucial for unlocking access to high-growth, well-paying careers such as engineering and computer science. Without this, women remain excluded from economic opportunities, reinforcing inequality across generations and hindering efforts to reduce poverty. In addition, greater participation of women in STEM fields and their advancement to leadership positions are essential for solving global challenges through diverse and innovative perspectives.

Women and children are disproportionately represented among the world’s poor, and poverty among women is increasing at a rate that is widening the gap with men. This complex issue is driven by factors such as unequal access to education and resources, lower wages, the burden of unpaid care work, and systemic discrimination. Our schools attempt to redress this imbalance by providing an education which targets young women and provides good quality academic and relevant vocational training ready for future employment.

Climate change creates both direct and indirect challenges that disproportionately affect girls’ access to and continuation of education. Increased Domestic Burden (Time Poverty); Water and Fuel Scarcity: Climate events like drought increase the time and distance required to collect essential natural resources like water and fuel.

The responsibility for securing household resources often falls on women and adolescent girls. The long hours spent on these tasks cause girls to miss school or show up too tired to learn, which often leads to them being withdrawn from school. Climate-related disasters (flooding, drought) quickly translate into economic shocks for households dependent on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture.

Forced displacement due to disasters and conflicts puts girls at increased risk of trafficking, exploitation, and child marriage.

Girls who receive an education can learn skills and knowledge that lead to better job opportunities and higher lifetime earnings. This allows them to achieve financial independence and contribute significantly to their household and community economy. They are equipped to make better, educated decisions and be more informed about their lives. This leads to better, poverty free lives for themselves and their families. It equips girls to advocate for their rights, challenge discriminatory practices, and make critical life-determining decisions.

Educating girls is one of the most powerful investments a nation can make, with far-reaching positive impacts on community, regional and country growth, health, and climate action. Investing in girls’ and women’s education and training is essential for expanding economic opportunities and is a proven pathway to poverty reduction. It is seen as a key driver of sustainable development and social progress, and a vital human rights issue.

Educating girls generates trillions of dollars in global income and is often cited as the best investment for alleviating poverty. A woman who completes secondary education is likely to earn twice as much as a woman with no education. Each additional year of schooling can increase a girl’s earnings potential.

Educated women typically reinvest about 90% of their earnings back into their families (compared to 35% for men), funding their children’s health and education, which helps to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Education empowers women to make informed decisions, leading to better outcomes for their families and communities. A child born to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five than a child born to an illiterate woman. Increased female education has been credited with preventing over four million child deaths over the past four decades. Educated women are more informed about nutrition, sanitation, and immunization for their children.

Girls who have an education and are able to stay in school longer tend to marry at a later age and have fewer children, which results in more economically stable families. Educated women are also less likely to be subjected to domestic violence and have more control over decisions in their households.

Education equips girls with the skills and knowledge needed to become leaders in their communities, driving climate-smart businesses and advocating for policies that promote environmental stability.

In short, investing in girls’ education builds healthier communities, strengthens economies, and creates more stable and resilient societies for everyone.

Nearly 4 in 10 adolescent girls and young women do not complete upper secondary education and poverty is a driving force behind these figures. Poverty significantly affects girls’ education by creating economic, social, and cultural barriers that prevent them from accessing, staying in, and completing school, particularly in low-income countries and marginalized communities. The issue is often amplified by existing gender inequalities, where families facing financial hardship must make difficult choices that frequently favour boys’ education over girls’.

The direct and indirect costs associated with schooling often become insurmountable for poor families, pushing girls out of the classroom. Even where public education is nominally “free,” poor families often cannot afford mandatory or hidden costs such as school uniforms, books, supplies, transportation, and exam fees.

In many poor households, when resources are scarce, parents prioritize the education of their sons, believing boys offer a greater long-term economic return on investment, while a girl’s primary role is often seen as marriage and domestic work. The need for girls to labour to support the family often also pulls them out of school or excludes them completely. Girls also take on increased domestic responsibilities, such as fetching water and firewood, or caring for younger siblings or sick relatives, which leaves no time for attending school or homework.

Child Marriage and Early Pregnancy are major driver of child marriage. Families may see marrying off a daughter early as an economic strategy to reduce the number of mouths to feed and, in some contexts, to receive a bride price. Marriage and early pregnancy almost always interrupt and end a girl’s formal education.

Gender-Based Violence and Safety: The long or unsafe distance to school, especially in remote areas, or the lack of security at school can deter parents from sending their daughters. School closures due to conflict or economic shocks (like the COVID-19 pandemic) have also been linked to an increase in sexual violence and exploitation, increasing the risk of dropping out.

The cycle of poverty and lack of education is self-reinforcing. Children face an extreme poverty rate of 32.9 per cent when the head of their household has no education, compared with just 5.8 per cent when the head of household has completed tertiary education. When girls miss out on education, they have limited access to skills and opportunities in the labour market, perpetuating low socio-economic status for them and their future families. Conversely, studies show that investing in girls’ education dramatically increases a woman’s lifetime earnings, strengthens national growth rates, and leads to a reduction in child mortality and maternal mortality rates, effectively helping to break the cycle of poverty.